Kovac receives Hungarian ambassador to Belgrade

BELGRADE - Serbian Deputy Parliament Speaker Elvira Kovac received Hungarian Ambassador to Belgrade Jozsef Magyar on Friday, thanking Hungary for being the only European country to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution on Srebrenica.

"The Serbian citizens were touched by the move by Hungary, which showed it is a true and sincere friend of the Republic of Serbia," an official statement quoted Kovac as saying.

Magyar said he was pleased Kovac had been re-elected head of the Serbian parliamentary committee on European integration and deputy parliament speaker as she would continue to represent Serbia in European institutions where the country is not yet a full-fledged member.

We do not want separation by borders, which also separate the two peoples, the two friendly countries - on the contrary, we want to reduce and remove all barriers that exist today, be they institutional or coming from a legal status, such as the EU and the Schengen zone, Magyar said.

He said Hungary would continue to conduct its policy and support Serbia in international arena as it saw the country as a friend and a strategic partner.

He also noted the significance of the ethnic Hungarian community in Serbia and its representatives.

He said Hungary would announce the official programme of its upcoming EU presidency after Sunday's elections for the European Parliament.

The ambassador said Hungary would have a series of activities in Serbia, too, and asked Kovac for Serbia and Hungary to step up their partnership to give the citizens a better picture of what the EU could do for Serbia.

The parties agreed that inter-governmental cooperation was on an enviably high level and that a bilateral strategic council represented a step forward in political relations that had resulted in mutual benefits.

They also said preparations were underway for sessions of the council and a joint commission on economic cooperation that were scheduled for the autumn.

Kovac extended a message of gratitude to the head of the Hungarian delegation to the Council of Europe Zsolt Nemeth, who has spoken openly against CoE membership for the so-called Kosovo.

Magyar and Kovac agreed that, instead of representing technical preparations for EU membership, the EU accession talks process had attained a political character under the excuse of Russia's aggression on Ukraine, and noted that this had a negative impact on Western Balkan states.